Since it looks like we've got another year of grim economic times ahead of us, now seems like the right time to pull out a couple of books that might put the whole thing--culinarily, at least--into perspective. That they're also great reads is just icing on the cake.

A decade earlier, during the great depression, unemployed writers were sent across the country to write about American regional foods as part of a Works Progress Administration project. Before the project was shut down by Congress as a "foolish boondoggle" (sounds familiar), dozens of writers chronicled the fish fries, booyah cook-offs, church suppers, and other foodcentric events that made up the backbone of regional American food culture. Pat Willard has pieced together many of these articles in a wonderful book called America Eats!, which was published last year. Somehow, I don't think the 2009 stimulus package is going to include any money for unemployed writers to update this project...